March 22, 2011

… keeping in mind everyone (including myself) needs something to make us smile and uplifted.

Last year I was complaining (as usually) on twitter about how difficult is to find cute patterned cellophane bags here in Finland. Well, correct me if I am wrong (any Finnish friends reading there?), but it is difficult to find normal cellophane bags too, so think about the patterned ones…

A very kind friend of mine offered me to send me some ^_^! I got her adorable package in the beginning of the year and she not only sent me cello bags, she also included her oh-so-famous honey chocolate bread among other things. They are a-ma-zing!

Simone has a chocolate business “Divas chocolates” and a mouth watering blog too. Both are in Portuguese but you can visit her and take a look on the delicious stuff she makes :).

(Hey… and I must say, she is so amazing she is responsible for the cute sweets of the First Hello Kitty Cafe in the Americas. How cool is that? Aaw)

I decided to send a little something back, to thank for her kindness of sending me all these wonderful stuff.

As I can´t beat her on chocolate making I crafted mini sweet felt food to her :). I assembled two little mobile charms (using beads etc) with the mini food. All are handmade by me with my own patterns :).

(Snack time! ^_^ )

Si! Obrigada pela sua gentileza! Um beijo grande da Mame ^__^!

☆☆☆

The Bento4Japan eBay auctions and the European Raffle are still on. Check it out when you have an opportunity! Remembering that all the proceeds go to Japan Disaster Relief. We appreciate your support.

This post was written by karaimame exclusively for Acquiring Taste. All writing, images and other materials in this blog remain the property of Acquiring Taste and cannot be used without permission.

March 15, 2011

It has been hard not to think all the time about the tragedy that struck Japan. I´ve been following the news since Friday, glued to the computer screen. I watch the NHK streaming online but my Japanese language skills are limited to understand everything (wishing I could be with my mother and my father, they would help me out with that)

So I kept my streaming on and read @makiwi updates on twitter to know the news. Makiko Itoh is the owner of Just Bento and Just Hungry, an extraordinary person who has been translating non-stop the Japanese news for us. She says doing that helps her to cope with the situation, but I say, her efforts help us in another bigger dimension we wouldn’t be capable to describe and to thank her in any way.

My warm thoughts are still for people in Japan. Be brave. It will be a long journey to rebuild the country and heal the deep wounds. We are still thinking of you. Friends, hang in there, know we wish you the best, from our ♥’s.

…

I´ve been trying to write a post about subjects this blog is about. It doesn’t feel right somehow. It doesn’t feel right to mention we are sick here for almost three weeks in a row (3yo, 5yo and I with flu, fever and cough). It is so small problem, can´t be compared to what´s going on.

I had a long talk with my mother yesterday. Seeing her (via skype) and chatting with her brought peace to my heart. She also reaffirmed our relatives are fine and safe in Japan. She made me see how blessed we are and how we must value the precious things in life, no matter how smallest they might look like.

Quite comforting and cheering up thoughts .

So.. there is one thing I want to share today. It is small. But it cheered me up and brought me a smile.

I got a message on Friday from a friend who lives in Brazil. She wanted to let me know that at least one thing was good amongst that chaotic sad day: a gift I sent her far ago finally reached the destination.

It was a handmade gift, with a story. Last year I sent this friend a package of goodies, including an amigurumi bear. I crafted it thinking about her, a big fan of Japanese sweets.

Anyways, this exact bear never arrived there. My package did… very spoiled. It was a rainy season in Brazil and there were floods here and there. Still, can’t justify the condition the package was delivered her: wet, full of mold, with worms. Sealed in a trash plastic bag. Yes, to cry. I got extremely sad. Some things could be saved but she never found the bear I made her.

I promised myself I would craft a copy of that bear and send it again. It was taking long to hear from her about the mail. I can’t be that unlucky, can I?

So there he is, the bear. Actually, it is the bear I made the first time. I made pictures of the new one, but I forgot to put memory in my camera when doing so. Yes, laugh, I can be absentminded sometimes too. :/

The new bear was assembled as a keychain. This one, was a mobile charm. I tried to make them exactly the same, so there aren’t much differences from this one in the picture.

I know is silly it enlightened my day.

This post was written by karaimame exclusively for Acquiring Taste. All writing, images and other materials in this blog remain the property of Acquiring Taste and cannot be used without permission.